tip up fishing

[BiggA]

what method do you all use when catching fish on tip ups. I have been told by some that you have to set the hook right away and others that you have to let them run for a while. I have even seen some put the flag back down a couple times.

[The General]

Usually I'm not fishing right next to my tip up so it would be hard to set the hook right away.  I put the biggest shiners I can buy on my tip ups so I know it's usually going to be a big fish.  When I get to the tip up I wait for the line to quit running out.  then I lift the tip up and pull some slack out.  Next I pull up the slack until I can feel the fish and set the hook.  Pull line up, mount fish, or return it to the lake.  I don't remember the last time I caught what I would call a "eater" on my tip up. 

[dakids]

I use the round tip ups that fit in a 5 gallon bucket.  They work great. The hole never freezes up.  I will usually set one line in 9-10 fow just off of the weedline and 4 feet off of the bottom and the other line in 5-6 fow with the sucker 1 foot below the bottom of the ice.  I use a 1 foot leader with a willow leaf spoon or a buckshot spoon.  Hook sucker below the dorsal fin. The hook starts real close to the middle of the back and angling downward and out the side of the sucker.  It makes the sucker strugle more to stay upright.  When I place the tipup over the hole I will lay the plastic flag flat and angled to face me when it pops up.  When the flag goes up I will go over slowly and watch to see how fast the fish is leaving.  I will usually wait until the fish stops and then starts to move again and that is when I set the hook.  One thing that I have noticed is that when you aproach a tip up in shallow water you MUST come from the shallow side or there is a very good chance that you will walk over the top of the fish and freak the fish out which usually ends with the fish dropping the sucker.

On lake of the woods I have had pretty good luck putting suckers on 1 foot below the bottom of the ice in very deep water.  The big one seem to know that fisherman will put back fish that were pulled up to fast and are dead or dieing.

Good luck and practice CPR